Solana-based decentralized exchange aggregator Jupiter is targeting the fourth quarter for the complete rollout of its new native predictions market offering, which it is developing in collaboration with Kalshi.
Jupiter announced on Wednesday that it had launched the beta version of its Jupiter Prediction Market. Kalshi will provide liquidity for Jupiter’s new offering, enabling users to speculate on the outcomes of various events.
Jupiter's Entry into the Prediction Markets Race
Kash Dhanda, chief operating officer at Jupiter Exchange, explained to Cointelegraph that Jupiter's primary objective is to offer a diverse range of products within a single platform. He believes that prediction markets will also serve as a means to attract a broader user base.
"Prediction Markets represent a powerful evolution in the types of assets that are available on-chain, and we’re thrilled to partner with Kalshi to bring them to Solana," Dhanda stated.
Dhanda highlighted that the prediction market sector is experiencing rapid growth, which is expected to drive the acquisition of new users for the platform.
According to the Q3 tokenholder report, Jupiter had 8.4 million active users as of the third quarter, marking a 5% increase from the previous quarter.
When asked about the benefits of the new prediction market for tokenholders, Dhanda commented, "As our prediction markets grow, so does our reach, our cross-product synergy, and our revenue, all of which is long-term beneficial to JUP token holders."
Dhanda indicated that Jupiter intends to incorporate user feedback to refine the product. He also reiterated that the prediction market is slated for a full launch sometime in the fourth quarter.
"We’ll keep iterating on the product and increasing limits in line with feedback we receive - more markets will be added and we’ll be gearing up for a full launch in Q4 itself," Dhanda added.
Prediction Market in Beta Phase
The current beta version features a single market focused on predicting which Formula One driver will win the upcoming Mexico Grand Prix.
Global maximum contracts are capped at 100,000, with individual positions limited to 1,000 contracts.
The trading volume for the initial test market has already surpassed the $100,000 mark. Max Verstappen, the F1 driver, is currently leading the predictions, with nearly 46% of users anticipating his victory. Lando Norris follows, with 27% of users predicting him to win the event.
Increased Institutional Appetite for Prediction Markets
Leading prediction market platforms, Polymarket and Kalshi, have witnessed significant increases in their valuations, accompanied by substantial growth in trading volumes on their respective platforms in recent months.
On October 7, Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), invested $2 billion into Polymarket, valuing the company at $9 billion.
Concurrently, Kalshi raised $300 million in its Series D funding round, achieving a valuation of $5 billion. This round saw participation from prominent investors including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Paradigm, CapitalG, Coinbase Ventures, General Catalyst, and Spark Capital.
These investments coincide with a period of rapid expansion for the prediction market industry as a whole. Trading volume across platforms reached an all-time high of $2.03 billion for the week ending October 13, according to data from a Dune dashboard.